Love Waited-Czech Mission Trip

Last week I returned home from the Czech Republic. I was there with my husband, our three teens and thirteen dear friends from our church. This was our second mission trip, and we left there with our hearts even more connected with our Czech friends.

What I (we) taught: English

John and I taught the advanced English Camp. Cory and Nathan taught junior high boys. Leslie taught junior high girls.

What I learned: Love

I first fell in love with the Czech Republic when I was on vacation with two writer friends. The place and the people drew me, but it was my love of God that took me back.

You see, it was during an Experiencing God Bible Study that I felt called to lead a mission trip there. We went once, and now twice. I love God, so in following Him I went to show His love to the people there. (Less than 1% of Czech are Christians.) And as I served the people ... my love for them took root and grew. This mission led me across the sea and serving there I found friends. Deep, heart-friends.

I also fell in love with the church, God's body. I cherish the group that I traveled with. It made me even more thankful for our local body. I cherish the group of God-lovers that I served with there. One of my favorite things was worshiping in English as members of the Czech church sung in Czech. A beautiful glimpse of heaven.

One night when I awoke because of jet lag, unable to sleep, I came across this verse:

Then will I purify the lips of the peoples,
that all of them may call on the name of the LORD
and serve him shoulder to shoulder. Zeph 3:9

And that's what it felt like. It was God who was uniting our hearts. It was He who was calling us to serve shoulder to shoulder ... how amazing is that?

What I witnessed God doing: Unifying

Even though we live far apart, I felt God joining us together.

His people.

His church.

His love.

His plan.

He knew that I'd find heart-friends there. I'm just thankful I followed.

Love waited.

(you can see a bit about what we did and who we met here.)

Sincerely, Tricia Goyer